Two killed in suspected Boko Haram attack in Cameroon

Source: Reuters - Mon, 5 May 2014 17:45 GMT

Author: Reuters

(Adds details of the attack, quote and background)

YAOUNDE, May 5 (Reuters) - At least two people were killed in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on a military police outpost in northern Cameroon early on Monday, state radio and a government spokesman said.

The Nigerian Boko Haram group has been using Cameroon's Far North region as a base for attacks in neighbouring Nigeria and is suspected to be behind a number of kidnappings in the region in recent months.

It was reported on Monday to have claimed responsibility for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in northeast Nigeria.

Cameroon state radio said some 30 suspected members of the armed Islamist group attacked a gendarme post at around 2 a.m. (0100 GMT).

"In the heavy exchange of gunfire, a gendarmerie chief warrant officer was shot dead," the radio said.

"A man in a cell was also shot dead, while two other men in the cell were seriously wounded."

The attackers freed a suspected Boko Haram militant detained there and escaped with weapons, it said.

"I can confirm that an attack took place but we are still waiting for more details," Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary told Reuters.

Cameroon said in March it would send 700 soldiers to its northeastern border as part of regional efforts to tackle the armed group.

Cameroon also faces growing insecurity along its eastern border with the conflict-torn Central African Republic. The army has freed 18 civilians seized there last week by rebels from the Central African Republic, state television reported on Monday.

Officials in Niger have also voiced concern about infiltration by Boko Haram across the country's southern border. (Reporting by Tansa Musa and Bate Felix; Editing by Emma Farge and Andrew Roche)

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